Alador Blight

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Luz was the first one up, which wasn’t a surprise. She glanced at her watch, and it was six in the morning, impressively later than her usual time on Christmas.

She waited impatiently for everyone else to get up, which was a surprisingly difficult task. Finally, after what felt like two hours, but was actually only thirty minutes, Amity and the Twins all got up, followed eventually by Alador.

“Feliz Navidad!” Luz cried to her girlfriend.

“Merry Christmas,” she responded, still a little groggy.

The Blights and Luz all slowly made their way to the Christmas tree.

“Luz, why did you insist on having a pine tree in the middle of our living room?” Alador asked.

“It’s Christmas! That’s what you do!” Luz said, “Do they not have Christmas on the Boiling Isles?”

“No, but we do celebrate the winter solstice, we call it Joulutide,” Amity said, “It’s very similar to what you’ve described Christmas to be like.”

Luz noticed that several presents had made their way under the tree.

“How did those get there?” Edric asked, referring to those presents.

“Well, Human tradition says that a magical figure called Santa Claus comes in the night and delivers them,” Luz said, “But firstly, Santa Claus probably isn’t real, and secondly, we’re in the Demon Realm. So I have no idea how they got there.”

The five of them examined the boxes, each of them had a tag on it, saying who they were to and from, Camilla had sent everyone something, and a few other people had sent gifts as well, including the Weasley Twins, Hunter, Gus, Willow, Vee, Eda, King, and Lilith.

Luz had the most presents addressed to her, so she opened the first one, which was from Camilla. First, she read the note attached.

Hey Mija,

Sorry I couldn’t make it to the first task, or to Christmas. Your Tia Maria was insistent that I spent Thanksgiving with her, and I couldn’t be in Scotland for the first task, and then back in time for the holiday. Work right now is busier than when I worked retail on Black Friday. You would not believe how many people are bringing in animals, mostly puppies and kittens, to the vet. Most of them are perfectly fine, we just need to give them their vaccines for rabies and the like. Seems like a lot of kids are getting a dog or cat for Christmas.

I know it’s no excuse to miss so many big things going on right now. But I just want you to know that I am SO proud of you, and the wonderful witch you are growing up to be. I have already requested the weeks of the second and third tasks off. I’m not missing those two for the world. Feliz Navidad.

Te amo

Mamá

Inside the box, she found a new sketchbook and a box of a hundred and twenty different Colored pencils (complete with a sharpener). Hunter sent both Amity and Luz a Palisman care kit. Gus had sent Luz a bunch of human (muggle) magic tricks, such as a deck of cards for sleight of hand, a ball and three cups, a top hat, a silly wand, and a stuffed bunny. He had sent Amity a book called “Big Book of Basic Illusions” (Amity had joined the Illusions and Healing tracks this semester).

Edric and Emira both received packages from the Weasley twins, inside they found all kinds of assorted objects Luz had never seen before, including something labeled a "Ton-Tongue Toffee” and few wands, but Luz figured they weren't real ones. Camilla had sent both of them matching sweaters, Amity and Alador got ones too.

More gifts were received, but Amity saved her gift to Luz for last.

“Here, Luz, I got you something too,” Amity said.

“Oh, thank you,” Luz said as she opened it. Inside was a rather thick novel that Luz immediately recognized. “Azura book six! Oh, Amity! Thank you so much!” She embraced her girlfriend in a tight hug.

After opening all of the presents, the Blights and Luz spent the rest of the morning, and the afternoon too, just enjoying each other’s company. Around six o’clock, the four students all finally decided to prepare for the ball. Luz decided to choose the suit over a ball gown, she didn’t want to trip on the skirt and make a fool of herself. So she was made to wear a white button-down shirt, a white bow tie, a black tailcoat, black trousers, and a pair of dress shoes that were a size too big. The tie felt much too tight around her neck, and the collar wasn’t helping matters.

“How does anyone breathe in this?” Luz complained as she adjusted it in front of the mirror.

“Here, I can fix that for you, Luz,” Alador said, using abomination goop to make her collar a half-inch longer, “That should do it.”

He was right, it felt way better. Luz managed to get the rest of her outfit on. Looking in the mirror, she thought she looked pretty good.

The four of them departed for the Yule Ball at seven-thirty, arriving at the front gates at seven-forty-five. Amity was wearing a beautiful purple ball gown, a lovely pearl necklace, and a tiara that Amity claimed was her grandmother’s. Edric and Emira both were more closely matching Luz, with the same kind of black coat and white tie.

Luz and Amity waited impatiently for the Great Hall’s doors to open, Ed and Em had disappeared, trying to find their dates.

At seven-fifty-five, Professor McGonagall called the champions to her. Luz saw a girl in a beautiful blue dress with Krum, a man with dark hair that Luz recognized from the Ravenclaw table was with Fleur, a girl from Ravenclaw was with Cedric, and a girl Luz had never seen was Harry’s date. McGonagall told the champions and their partners that they would wait until the rest of the hall was seated, then they would enter the ball.

Luz looked closer at Krum’s date and realized it was Hermione. Luz didn’t recognize her at first, her hair was sleek and well done instead of its usual bushy mess.

Once everyone else was finally settled, the champions and their pairs lined up and followed Professor McGonagall. The main tables had all been replaced by about a hundred small tables, each seating a dozen or so people. Everyone in the hall applauded as they entered and seated themselves at the table near the front with the Judges, though someone with trademark Weasley red hair was there instead of Mister Crouch.

Food appeared on everyone’s plates, and Luz could barely keep her composure as she ate the pork chops laid before her.

Dumbledore was telling Karkaroff about a secret bathroom he had found one night, Hermione was trying to teach Krum to pronounce her name correctly, (he kept calling her “Hermy-own”), and Fleur was going off about how Beauxbatons was much more impressive than Hogwarts.

When all of the food had been consumed, Dumbledore stood, asking everyone to follow in kind. Then, with a wave of his wand, all of the tables zoomed away to the back walls, leaving the center of the great hall clear. He also conjured a raised platform along the right wall. The weirdest combination of instruments Luz had ever seen were placed upon it; a drumset, several guitars, a lute, a cello, and bagpipes. An odd group of people walked onstage, they looked like a rock band that had left their razors behind in the seventies and were dressed in black robes that were ripped in countless spots. They picked up the instruments and the lanterns dimmed.

Luz stood and offered a hand to Amity. Together, they danced to the band’s slow tune as though they had danced together a million times, to be fair, they had danced together a million times.

Luz noticed Viney and Skara dancing together, Skara was graceful on her feet while Viney kept tripping over her own feet. Hunter and Willow were both clearly not dancers, they kept stepping on each other’s feet and bumping into other pairs. Gus and Matt were okay at it, but nothing remarkable. The twins were going along great with their partners, dancing with extreme gusto despite the slow tempo, though Ed’s partner had a face redder than his hair.

Harry kept tripping over his dance robes, he was rather grateful that Parvati seemed to know what she was doing because Harry felt like he was making a fool of himself. He noticed that Ginny had abandoned Neville, opting instead to be with a blonde girl Harry had never met. Dumbledore was dancing with Madame Maxine, which looked rather ridiculous, considering the top of his hat barely reached her chin.

Harry heard the final note from the bagpipe finally reach its conclusion. Harry took the opportunity to leave the dance floor.

“Oh, but this is a really good one!” Parvati protested as the Weird Sisters started a new song, which was much faster.

“No, I don’t like it,” Harry lied, leading them both to the back of the hall.

“How’s it going for you?” Harry asked Ron, who was opening a bottle of butterbeer.

Ron didn’t answer. He was busy glaring at Hermione and Krum. Padma was sitting with her arms and legs crossed, occasionally sending a glare Ron’s way. Parvati sat next to her sister, their demeanors were identical. Within minutes, a boy from Beauxbatons asked Parvati to dance.

“You don’t mind, do you, Harry?” Parvati said.

“What?” Harry said, rather stupidly, he was busy watching Cho and Cedric.

“Oh, never mind.” Parvati snapped, accepting the Beauxbatons boy’s hand. She didn’t return after the song ended.

Hermione soon took Parvati’s seat.

“Hi,” Harry said, Ron was silent.

“Hi, Viktor’s just gone to get us some drinks,” Hermione said, fanning herself with her hand.

“Viktor?” Ron said, “Hasn’t he asked you to call him Vicky yet?”

“What’s your problem?” Hermione asked, surprised.

“Well, if you haven’t figured it out, I’m not going to tell you,” Ron said scathingly.

The two of them quickly started arguing about Hermione’s choice of a dance partner. Ron saying she was “fraternizing with the enemy”, and Hermione calling Ron an idiot.

Harry sided with Hermione, albeit begrudgingly.

“Are you ever going to ask me to dance?” Padma asked, annoyed.

“No,” said Ron, still glaring at Hermione.

“Fine.” Padma snapped, joining her sister and the Beauxbatons boy, who conjured up one of his friends so quickly you might just think that he had used a summoning charm.

“Vare is Herm-own-ninny?” Krum’s unmistakable voice asked.

“No idea,” Ron said. “Why? Have you lost your date?”

”Vell, if you see her, tell her I haff drinks.” he said, slouching off.

“Making friends with Krum, are you?” Percy said to his younger brother. “Excellent! That’s the point, international magical cooperation!”

Percy took Padma’s vacated seat; he saw Dumbledore dancing with Bump, Ludo Bagman with McGonagall; Maxime and Hagrid were cutting a wide path around the dance floor as they waltzed through the students. When the next song ended, Harry saw Ludo Bagman kiss Professor McGonagall’s hand and make his way back through the crowds, at which point Fred and George accosted him.

“What do they think they’re doing, annoying senior Ministry employees?” Percy hissed, watching Fred and George, “No respect, those two.”

But Bagman shook off the twins rather quickly, and quickly joined Harry at the table.

“I hope my brothers weren’t bothering you, Mister Bagman,” Percy said very quickly.

“What? Oh, not at all!” Bagman said, “No, they were just telling me a bit about these fake wands of theirs. Impressive stuff for such young wizards! I’ve promised to get them in touch with a few of my contacts who work at Zonko’s Joke Shop.”

Percy seemed rather unhappy about that. Harry figured he was probably going to tell Mrs. Weasley about this the instant he got home. Bagman was about to ask Harry something when Percy interrupted.

“How do you feel the tournament’s going, Mister Bagman? Our department’s quite satisfied, the hitch with the Goblet of Fire-” Percy glared at Harry, “was a little unfortunate, of course, but it has been running smoothly ever since, don’t you think?”

Bagman and Percy got to talking about Ministry bull that Harry didn’t want to listen to, and neither did Ron, as he asked Harry if they wanted to take a bit of a walk.

Pretending that they wanted to get more drinks, Harry and Ron left the table, then edged around the dance floor (Luz and Amity had yet to stop dancing), and slipped out into the entrance hall. The large doors stood open, and the fairy lights (made from real fairies) twinkled as they went down the front steps. Here and there, Harry and Ron found a couple sitting on a carved bench, or walking together. Eventually, Harry heard an unpleasantly familiar voice.

“...don’t see what there is to fuss about, Igor.”

“Severus, you cannot keep pretending this isn’t happening!” Karkaroff’s voice anxiously said, “It’s been getting clearer and clearer for months. I am becoming seriously concerned, I can’t deny it-”

“Then flee,” Snape’s voice said shortly, “Flee, I will make your excuses. I, however, am remaining at Hogwarts.”

Snape caught two other students, along with Ron and Harry, eavesdropping. He deducted points from all of them, but Harry and Ron continued their walk. Eventually, Harry heard Hagrid speak.

“Momen’ I saw yeh, I knew,” Hagrad was saying, in an oddly husky voice.

Harry and Ron froze. This didn’t seem like something they ought to walk in on. Harry saw Fleur Delacour and Rodger Davies very occupied with each other while half concealed in a rosebush.

“What did you know, ‘Agrid?” Maxime asked.

Harry knew he shouldn’t listen, but it’s not like he could drown out Hagrid’s voice. He tried to interest himself in a nearby beetle, but it was nowhere near interesting enough to block Hagrid’s next words out of his ears.

“I jus’ knew, knew you were like me. Was it yer mother or yer father?”

“I- I don’t know what you mean ‘Agrid”

“It was my mother,” Hagrid said quietly, “She was one o’ the las’ ones in Britain. ‘Course, I can’ remember her too well… she left, see. When I was abou’ three. She wasn’ really the maternal sort. Dunno what happened to her might be dead fer all I know.”

Maxime stayed silent. In spite of himself, Harry took his eyes off the beetle and listened more intently. He had never heard Hagrid talk about his childhood before.

“Me dad raised me, but then he died, o’ course, jus’ after I started school. Sorta had ter make me own way after that. Dumbledore was a real help. Very kind ter me, he was…” Hagrid blew his nose very loudly, “So, anyway, enough abou’ me. What about you? Which side you got it on?”

Madame Maxime suddenly got to her feet.

“It is chilly,” she said, “I think I will go now.”

“Eh?” Hagrid said blankly. “No, don’ go! I’ve, I’ve never met another one before!”

“Anuzzer what, precisely?” Madame Maxime said coldly.

“Another half-giant, o’ course!” Hagrid said a bit too loudly.

“‘Ow dare you!” Madame Maxime shrieked, her voice like a foghorn. Harry heard Fleur and Rodger fall out of their rosebush behind him. “I ‘ave nevair been more insulted in my life! ‘Alf giant? Moi? I ‘ave, I ‘ave big bones!”

And with that, Maxime stormed off

“C’mon,” Harry whispered to Ron, “Let’s go…”

But Ron didn’t move.

“What’s wrong?” Harry said, concerned.

Ron looked at Harry very seriously.

“Did you know? About him being half-giant?”

“No,” Harry said, shrugging. “So what?”

Harry immediately knew that he was once again revealing how ignorant he still was when it came to the wizarding world. Harry realized that ”So what?” was not the response Ron, or most wizards for that matter, would have expected.

“I’ll explain inside,” Ron said quietly, “C’mon”

Fleur and Rodger Davis had disappeared, probably to a more private clump of bushes. Harry and Ron returned to the Great Hall, the Patil twins were sitting with a large crowd of Beauxbatons boys, and a couple girls. Hermione was once again dancing with Krum, Luz and Amity had finally taken a break from dancing, and were laughing at something Gus had said.

“So?” Harry prompted, “What’s the problem with giants?”

Ron proceeded to try to explain to a dumbfound Harry that giants aren’t welcome in Wizarding society, and they were almost extinct because of Wizards.

The Weird sisters finished playing at twelve o’clock sharp, and everyone gave them a last, loud round of applause. Many people seemed to wish the ball could go on for longer, but Harry was perfectly content going to bed.

Out in the entrance hall, Harry saw Hermione saying goodbye to Krum before he went on the ship. She gave Ron a very cold look as she swept past him and climbed the marble stairs. Harry suddenly heard someone call his name.

“Hey! Harry!”

It was Cedric Diggory, grinning widely. Why does he have to be so cheerful? Harry wondered.

“Yeah?” Harry said coldly.

Cedric looked as though he didn’t want to say whatever it was near Ron.

“Listen…” Cedric said softly, “I owe you one for telling me about the dragons. You know that egg? Does yours wail when you open it?”

“Yeah,” Harry said.

“Well, take a bath, okay?”

“What?”

“Take a bath, and, err, take the egg with you, and, err, just kinda, mull it over in the hot water. I think it’ll help, trust me.”

Harry stared blankly at his fellow champion.

“Tell you what,” He said, “Use the prefect’s bathroom. Fourth door to the left of that statue of Boris the Bewildered on the fifth floor. The password is ‘pine fresh’. Gotta go, see you Harry,”

Cedric grinned at Harry, then went back to be with Cho.

Harry walked back to Gryffindor Tower alone. That was some strange advice, Harry thought, How would a bath help? Is Cedric pulling my leg, trying to make me look like a fool so Cho would like him even more by comparison?

The fat lady and her friend Vi were snoozing in the picture over the portrait hole, Harry had to yell the password before he woke them up. When he finally climbed in, he found Ron and Hermione’s argument wasn’t quite over. But Harry, wanting to stay on speaking terms with them both, decided to keep his mouth shut.

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The Pentawizard Tournament chapter Nine: The First Task | FandomLink to previous chapter:…theowlhouse.fandom.com

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The Hexside students all wanted to see Luz’s egg after the first task, so she opened it after the crowds had been dismissed. Poor Luz was going to have to spend the next week in the Healing Coven wing to recover from her injuries after the fight, but she could still open the egg.

Edric thought he was open-minded on the possibilities of its contents, but a shriek that sounded worse than nails on a chalkboard while being louder than an enraged slitherbeast was definitely not what Edric thought it might be.

Hunter yelled for her to close the damn thing, which Luz did with surprising difficulty.

After that catastrophe, the Hexside students were all told to go back to the Demon Realm for the evening. Ed and Em decided to ignore that order, the Weasley twins had offered to teach them more Human Realm magic, and they wanted any excuse to be with those two. After all, not every magic school boasted another pair of mischief-making twins, especially ones as charming as Fred and George. Saint Epiderm and Glandus High both were lacking in that.

Fred greeted them warmly, and they went together to an unused classroom near the Transfiguration class.

“So what did you think of the First task?” George asked,

“It was cool!” Edric said, “Hope Luz is okay though, that dragon got her pretty good.”

“I’m sure she’s gonna be fine, Madam Pomfrey can heal just about anything shy of going six feet under.” Fred told the Blights, providing Edric with some relief

“So, what magic are we learning today?” Em asked.

“I think we should continue our lesson in Transfiguration.” Fred said, “Have you two been practicing?”

“Yes,” Emira said

“Not much,” Edric admitted sheepishly.

“Okay. Last time, if I remember correctly, you two were transforming a pin into a needle,” Fred recalled as he demonstrated, “Can I see your attempts?”

Ed and Em tried to transform the pin into a needle, it was clearly very basic transfiguration, but Edric still found it difficult. Emira turned it into a needle on her first attempt, Edric took four tries before his transformed.

“Good job, Emira!” George told the girl, “Edric, that was pretty good, but you seem unfocused,”

Edric hated it, but George was right; he was unfocused.

Edric spent more time turning his needle back to a pin, then back to a needle, and back again. Over and over until it was almost second nature, then the Weasleys gave them a new assignment; turning a pencil into a pen. Both twins struggled with this one.

After an hour or so of struggling, a Hogwarts teacher that Edric had seen around the castle many times entered the room they were in, probably wondering what the noise was about. She was an old witch, and very tall too. Despite her age, her hair was still blacker than ink, and was done neatly in a bun. She wore an emerald-green robe and a pointed black hat.

“What are you doing here?” She barked at Fred, who turned a handsome shade of pink, “And why do I get the feeling it’s nothing good?”

“Professor McGonagall!” Fred replied, “We were just teaching these two Hexside students, Edric and Emira Blight, some Transfiguration spells. Magic is very different at Hexside, and they wanted to learn, and-”

“You’re teaching magic?” McGonagall interrupted, “How very unlike you two. Your six-year long trend would imply you were planning a prank.” McGonagall looked at the Red-headed twins skeptically. “Let me ask these two, Blight, was it? Are these two troublemakers actually using their magical skills in a productive way for the first time in their lives, or are they using you two as a cover?”

“Professor McGonagall,” Em started, “These two have really been teaching us Transfiguration. They aren’t lying.”

“My sister is doing better than me, but I feel that I’m learning pretty quickly myself.” Ed finished.

“Well, if that’s the case, then I would like to see your Transfiguration. After all, it’s my area of expertise.” McGonagall said.

Edric and Emira demonstrated their transfiguration. Emira’s attempt at turning a pencil into a pen was nearly perfect already. Edric’s was sloppier, but he managed it eventually.

“How long have you spent on this?” The old witch inquired.

“This is the second lesson from the Weasley twins, and the previous one lasted under an hour. That was back on Halloween.” Emira explained.

“You’ve learned this much in such a short time, impressive, it normally takes weeks for my beginning Transfiguration students to successfully turn a pin into a needle.” McGonagall told them, “You must be very gifted in Transfiguration magic.”

“Well, at Hexside, we are both Illusion students, among other things.” Ed told her, “So perhaps the skills transfer.”

“Perhaps,” McGonagall said. “Still, if you wish to learn Transfiguration, I am the Transfiguration Professor, a few pointers from me can go a long way. Would you like a few?”

The Blights agreed, and regretted it almost immediately. She spent almost two hours explaining theories and laws that govern how Transfiguration worked. The material itself was dull, but she the enthusiasm with which she gave it was palpable, which seemed to surprise the Weasleys. Perhaps she was glad to have students that actually wanted to learn, rather than a class full of people that would rather be anywhere else.

“Dinner will be served soon, I must get going,” McGonagall said, "Practice diligently and study the theories. These two troublemakers here might thrive on chaos, but they are undeniably gifted wizards. If you require further guidance and I'm unavailable, Fred and George Weasley are excellent resources."

Professor McGonagall then left for dinner.

“Hey, Weasleys. Do you wanna come over to Blight Manor for dinner tonight?” Edric asked nervously, he was normally smoother than this, but there was something about that Fred that was so appealing, “I think Dad is making phoenix wings tonight.”

“I’d love to come to your place!” Fred answered him, “Wait, did you say manor? You guys must be rich then! What are you doing hanging out with commoners like us? The Weasleys are the poorest pureblood wizard family in Britain,”

“It’s not like we go around flaunting our wealth!” Emira defended. “Besides, you guys are like, super hot- I mean cool! So of course we want you two over for dinner! Who knows, maybe Mittens will be there!” The Blights chuckled.

“Or maybe she’ll sleep in the library again!” Ed laughed, “What a nerd!”

The four of them laughed as they departed for the Demon Realm.

Of course Peeves had to interrupt their departure.

“Ooh! What have we here? Freddie and Georgie! Have you two found love? And from Hexside students no less!” The poltergeist said to them, George didn’t know how, but Peeves somehow also knew their names. “Fred and Edric sitting in a tree K-I-S-S-I-N-G, Emira and George sitting in a tree K-I-S-S-I-N-G” The spirit repeated over and over. The four of them quickened their pace significantly, but they could not escape Peeves’ taunts being heard by almost the entire school as they passed the Great Hall.

Finally escaping the infernal poltergeist’s singing as they stepped out to the lawn, the Weasleys and Blights had all turned a vivid shade of red. It seemed to suit Emira very well, at least in George’s mind.

Edric lead the way through the portal. On the other side of it, George found a world unlike anything he had ever seen in his life. The trees were blood red, and they were just in time for sunset here, despite it having been hours ago back at Hogwarts. The sunset they saw was the most beautiful thing George had ever seen. The orange, violet, blue, and red were plastered across the entire sky like a work of art. Each moment seemed to unveil a new layer of splendor, as if nature herself was showcasing her finest work. George couldn’t help but gawk at it until the sun dipped fully below the horizon and the beauty had ended. George couldn't shake the feeling that he had just witnessed something truly magical, etched forever in his memory.

“Come on!” Emira cried at the humans, “You’re going to make us late!”

After the sunset ended, George came along with Emira and Edric to their house, which was a very large house, easily bigger than the Great Hall. It had a large, purple front door, and countless stained glass windows littered the walls of it.

“I thought you said you didn’t flaunt your wealth!” George exclaimed, awestruck at the scale of their house.

“Well, it’s been in our family since the Savage Ages, we can’t exactly help that it’s bigger than the four of us will ever need.” Emira defended.

Finding the argument pointless, George quickened himself and knocked on the massive front door.

A moment later, a purple goop-thing opened the door, causing George to scream in shock.

“Oh, don’t mind that, it’s just an abomination.” Emira said.

“Completely harmless!” Edric added.

That did little to reassure George, the thing looked anything but harmless. And it was called an Abomination! What kind of crazy place was this?

The Blights calmly entered the manor, the foyer of which seemed to be the size of the Burrow, and they walked a path further into the house; seeming to almost forget about the two humans who had never been there before.

“Hey dad! We’re home! I hope it’s okay, we brought guests!” Emira announced.

“Oh, that’s fine dear,” a new voice replied, “I assume they’re staying for dinner. Abomination, please get our guests something to drink.”

A moment later, another one of those purple goop monsters walked out from the hallway the voice had been coming from. It was holding a platter in its hand. The abomination groaned at the Weasley twins, who exchanged confused looks.

“Tell it what you want to drink,” Edric advised.

“Erm, I’ll have tea please, green tea, if you don’t mind.” Fred nervously said, George replied in same.

The abomination groaned, then disappeared into that same hall. A minute or so later, it returned with two steaming teacups.

“Erm, thank you,” Fred said as he took them and handed one of them to George. The abomination groaned, then departed once more.

Fred and George both took seats on the sofa, the Blight twins sitting in love seats on their flanks. George sipped his tea.

“Alright, the wings just need some time to simmer before they go into the fryer.” The fatherly voice said as he emerged from the kitchen. “I suppose I should meet the guests,”

Mr. Blight was a somewhat tall man, with unkempt brown hair and stubble that was bordering on being a beard. He wore a gray lab coat covered in purple stains of the same hue as the abominations from earlier.

“Hello, Mister Blight!” Fred cheerfully said, “Pleasure to meet you! I’m Fred Weasley, and this is my brother, George!”

“Nice to meet you too, but please, call me Alador.” He responded tiredly.

“Will Mittens be here tonight?” Em asked her father.

“She plans to, but with Luz injured, I have a feeling it will be impossible to separate them.” He responded.

“Who’s Mittens?” George asked, feeling dumb for his lack of awareness.

“Our little sister, Amity.” Em told him.

They talked for about ten minutes, during which time George learned that Alador made abominations for a living, Hexside school separated students based on what magic they learned, (which made no sense to George, why not teach everyone everything?), and that until about a year prior, Hexside’s magic separation applied to everyone, not just students, but adults as well.

“Well, why were they forcing people to only do one kind of magic?” George asked, almost outraged at the mere concept of such restriction.

“The Empire told everyone for decades, no, centuries, that mixing magic was against the Titan’s will.” Alador told them, “The real reason was that Emperor Belos, it was the same person for the entire time, despite what imperial history books claim, wanted everyone to be branded with one of these,” He showed them his wrist, which was branded with a tattoo of a bit of abomination goop, “So he could cast a powerful spell and eliminate the entire population of the Boiling Isles.”

“His end-goal was Genocide!?!” Fred cried, “This man sounds as bad as You-know-who.” he paused, “Well, I guess you probably don’t know who.” He then explained Voldemort’s mysterious rise to power about twenty years prior, and how he murdered countless people, especially muggles and muggle-born wizards and witches.

“Oof, he seems pretty bad, and you said that your friend Harry was the one who brought him down, as in that kid brought down this terrible dark wizard when he was one year old!?!” Edric said, surprised.

“Yeah, you-know-who tried to use the killing curse on him, but it somehow backfired and killed you-know-who instead. Harry was just left with a lightning bolt scar on his forehead. Nobody knows how he survived.” George said, “Pretty weird.”

“Oh, I forgot about the phoenix wings!” Alador shouted suddenly, running off to the kitchen. He returned moments later, claiming that an abomination had taken care of it, and that dinner would be ready in about five minutes.

Moments later, the front door swung open, Amity stood there.

“Hey Mittens!” The Blight twins said in unison. Amity groaned at the remark.

“Will you two ever grow up?” She asked of them,

“Nope!” Em said.

“Whatever, I’ll be in my room, let me know when dinner is ready.”

“You might as well not bother with going up there, dinner is almost ready, you’re just in time.” Alador said to his younger daughter.

Eventually, the phoenix wings were ready, and George could not believe how good they tasted. They were like chicken wings, but spicy even without sauce, and way bigger too.

After a delicious meal, George and Fred reluctantly departed for Hogwarts.

“Thank you, for such a wonderful meal, and such nice, erm, hospitality!” Fred exclaimed.

“We hope to see you again soon!” George added.

The two of them returned to their common room, it was well after bed time, but it’s not like that had ever stopped them before.

“So how many things did you nick?” George asked his twin.

Fred put his stealings onto his four-poster bed, there were quite a few things: (I listed like, twenty things here, but I cut it because none of them were going to be even so much as mentioned later.)

“Aw, bugger! You got way more than me! I only nicked a comb from their bathroom!” George complained.

“Well, that’s what you get for being slow!” Fred mocked.

They both laughed heartily, then decided it was best time they went to bed. The day had been rather long, after all.